Feds' job satisfaction continues to dive

By Adam Mazmanian

Nov 08, 2013

WHAT: 2013 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey

WHY: Every year, the Office of Personnel Management surveys federal workers on their job satisfaction, sense of mission and agency morale. The release of the report was delayed because of the partial government shutdown, but it is probably no accident that OPM opted to release the report to the press late on a Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend.

The news is bleak.

Across agencies, the satisfaction rate of federal employees is rated at 59 percent, down from 63 percent in 2012 and 67 percent as recently as 2010. Keep in mind that the survey responses were filed by a reported 376,500 federal employees long before the October shutdown, and their responses reflect dips in morale based on sequestration furloughs, pay freezes, reduced opportunities for training and travel, and workplace satisfaction. The Department of Defense, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the General Services Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency reported some of the steepest declines in job satisfaction.

Across the board, feds report reduced recognition for high performance. Fewer employees believe that their organization is interested in improving their skills. The percentage of employees who recommend their agency as a good place to work continues to decline, from 70 percent in 2010 to 63 percent in 2013. Despite flagging morale, relatively few respondents reported being close to retirement, with just 14 percent planning to leave federal service within three years.

Verbatim: "The survey results serve as an important warning about the long-term consequences of the sequestration and budget uncertainty. Without a more predictable and responsible budget situation, we risk losing our most talented employees, as well as hurting our ability to recruit top talent for the future."

OPM is partnering with CSID to try to manage the fallout from a massive breach of some 4 million federal personnel records.

Reader comments

Wed, Nov 20, 2013

In my first 25 years of service I don't think I work less than a 50-hour week, not anymore. Say what you want but when they furloughed me I changed - for the good. I think I've worked a 40-hour week each week, but not 42, and I've taken a really fun part-time job. So I'm not going to let it bother me anymore, I'm just going to ride it out and milk the system. Meh, they asked for it.

Tue, Nov 12, 2013

Nearly everyone is getting hurt and the Feds are sharing in the pain this time around. The economy is facing its worst recovery since the Great Depression because, like in the Great Depression, the Fed is creating all sorts of destructive programs like ObamaCare and the wasteful stimulus package, on top of the creation of Freddy Mac and Fannie May created by the Dems during the Carter adminstration and expanded early in the Clinton admistration. Too many asked for Big Government Socialism and we got what most voted for - along with the misery that normally goes with it.

Tue, Nov 12, 2013

The 'Verbatim' quote is from who?

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